Described by critics as melodramatic and bombastic, [wimpLink artistId="3885669"]the Mission[/wimpLink] nonetheless attracted a core audience of goth rock fans. The group was formed in 1986 by guitarist/singer [wimpLink artistId="4150450"]Wayne Hussey[/wimpLink] and bassist Craig Adams, who both left [wimpLink artistId="13079"]the Sisters of Mercy[/wimpLink] to do so. ([wimpLink artistId="4150450"]Hussey[/wimpLink] had also played with the Walkie Talkies and [wimpLink artistId="1189"]Dead or Alive[/wimpLink].) The two recruited [wimpLink artistId="3613173"]Artery[/wimpLink] guitarist [wimpLink artistId="7547688"]Simon Hinkler[/wimpLink] and former [wimpLink artistId="3605785"]Red Lorry Yellow Lorry[/wimpLink] drummer [wimpLink artistId="6878714"]Mick Brown[/wimpLink] and called themselves the Sisterhood, to which [wimpLink artistId="13079"]Sisters of Mercy[/wimpLink] leader Andrew Eldritch objected strenuously. The Mission released two successful independent singles in the U.K. and signed to Mercury in 1986. The group soon completed its debut album, God's Own Medicine, which went on to produce a handful of U.K. hits, while critics found much of the record to be reminiscent of [wimpLink artistId="67522"]Led Zeppelin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="8752651"]Yes[/wimpLink]. Although the band toured extensively in the U.K. and America; Adams had to return home from the latter leg after suffering from exhaustion. Produced by [wimpLink artistId="67522"]Led Zeppelin[/wimpLink] bassist [wimpLink artistId="3611850"]John Paul Jones[/wimpLink], their second album Children, widened the band's audience, reaching number two on the U.K. album charts. 1990's [wimpLink albumId="530116"]Carved in Sand[/wimpLink] shed some of [wimpLink artistId="3885669"]the Mission[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="67522"]Zep[/wimpLink] fascination for more refined songwriting. [wimpLink artistId="7547688"]Hinkler[/wimpLink] left the band midway through the supporting tour and was eventually replaced permanently by Paul Etchells. Meanwhile, several [wimpLink artistId="3885669"]Mission[/wimpLink] members backed [wimpLink artistId="15530283"]Slade[/wimpLink] members [wimpLink artistId="6452679"]Noddy Holder[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="8077889"]Jim Lea[/wimpLink] on the Christmas charity single "Merry Xmas Everybody."
By 1992, [wimpLink artistId="4150450"]Hussey[/wimpLink] was the only original member left; following the 1994 [wimpLink albumId="575509"]Sum and Substance[/wimpLink] retrospective, he recorded the 1995 album Neverland with a new [wimpLink artistId="3885669"]Mission[/wimpLink] lineup. Blue followed a year later, with the greatest-hits retrospective Resurrection appearing in fall 1999. The 2001 album Aura was followed by a world tour that slowly saw the new line-up dissolving. By the time God Is a Bullet arrived courtesy of the 2007 version of the band, [wimpLink artistId="4150450"]Hussey[/wimpLink] was living in Brazil. He announced that [wimpLink artistId="3885669"]the Mission[/wimpLink] would actively promote the album through early 2008, after which he would be focusing on solo work. His first release to fall into this category was Bare, a [wimpLink artistId="4150450"]Hussey[/wimpLink] album largely made up of cover versions which appeared before the end of that year. Next, an album of outtakes from the God Is a Bullet sessions was issued in 2010, under the name Dum-Dum Bullets, before [wimpLink albumId="9986410"]Curios[/wimpLink] -- an album of covers and original material -- appeared in 2011 under the [wimpLink artistId="4261887"]Hussey & Regan[/wimpLink] moniker, re-kindling [wimpLink artistId="4150450"]Hussey[/wimpLink]'s creative relationship with the [wimpLink artistId="17394"]All About Eve[/wimpLink] founder [wimpLink artistId="6461399"]Julianne Regan[/wimpLink]. For much of 2011 and 2012, [wimpLink artistId="4150450"]Hussey[/wimpLink] appeared live under [wimpLink artistId="3885669"]the Mission[/wimpLink] name in celebration of their 25th anniversary, and in September 2013, the band released a new album, [wimpLink albumId="34480258"]Brightest Light[/wimpLink]. Three years later they released their 11th studio album, the 12-string heavy [wimpLink albumId="84764231"]Another Fall from Grace[/wimpLink], which [wimpLink artistId="4150450"]Hussey[/wimpLink] described as the "lost link between [wimpLink artistId="13079"]the Sisters of Mercy[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink albumId="49200627"]First and Last and Always[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3885669"]the Mission[/wimpLink]'s own first album." ~ Steve Huey & James Wilkinson